Indians buy over £1 bn worth of prime London property in 1 year

The trend of buying prime properties across London seems to be fast catching up with high net worth Indians. Estate agents have reported increasing purchases by them in the capital’s most high profile addresses such as Mayfair, outstripping other foreign buyers.

In the last 12 to 18 months, Indians (including investors and developers) bought over £1 billion (Rs 10,910 crore) worth of property, which includes luxury homes, hotels and leisure outlets, according to an analysis by estate agent Wetherell.

Other estate agents such as Knight Frank and Savills have also pointed out a similar trend.

According to Wetherall, Indians constitute the largest group of overseas buyers in Mayfair, accounting for 25% of all purchasers (second only to British-based buyers), and well ahead of Asian and Continental European buyers (19%) and Russians and West Asian buyers (13%).

Figures from the Land Registry show that Indian buyers overseas spent almost £450 million (Rs 4,585 crore) purchasing some 221 residential properties in prime central London with the most popular locations being Mayfair, St Johns Wood and Belgravia.

In November last-year, the Mumbai-based Lodha Group bought the iconic building of Canadian high commission in Grosvenor Square for £306 million (Rs 3,118 crore).